Refrigerator



. 9 c. H.INA UERTH'I I I v2,217,875

REFRIGERATOR Filed May 20/195":

Patented Oct. 15, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR Carl B. Nanert, Evansville, lnd assignor to Serve],-

Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware This invention relates broadly to gasket construction and is particularly concerned with the construction of gaskets for use in refrigerator and like cabinets to effect a seal between the door and the adjacent frame of the cabinet.

A type of gasket commonly used for doors of refrigerators consists of a strip of suitable gasket material having a web portion and a striking bead at the outer edge of the web which is generally hollow and compressible, the strip being cut to a length conforming to the lineal area to be covered and applied in any suitable manner to the edge of the door casing. In making the gasket conform to the are or radius at the corners of..the door, the striking bead must be crumpled, notched, or otherwise distorted, with g the result that the gasket is weakened at these points and has a tendency to collapse during subsequent use and become less effective in carrying out its sealing function.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved type of gasket particularly adapted for installation at door corners or other rounded or angular joints which 26 will retain its original effective sealing contour over a long period of use. v

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become more apparent in view of the following description taken in conjunction with 30 the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a refrigerator cabinet with the cabinet door open;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one of the corner portions of the door;

Fig- 3 is a sectional perspective view taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 4 and 5 are views similar to Fig. 3 illus-' trating modifications in the gasket structure.

Referring to the drawing in detail, a refriger- 40 ator cabinet is generally indicated at C, the door at D, and the food compartment at F. The edge of the frame defining the food compartment may be provided with the usual breaker strip in, and the door is provided with a beveled portion ll adapted to coact with the breaker strip when the door is closed. The door frame is provided with a casing or sheathing formed with an edge lipor flange i la. A sealing gasket, generally indicated at I2 is installed against the inner surface of the lip, and the present invention is concerned with the construction of this gasket.

The gasket I2 comprisesa continuous strip of asket material such as rubber, rubberized fabric, composition or the like having a web portion [2a and a striking bead |2b which is hollow and 'compressible. At the corner regions of the door the bead lZb is preferably provided with a series of notches l3, and a reinforcing and body mem her in the form of an insert or core M. This insert may consist of a length of relatively soft 5 or flexible material such as sponge rubber or the like, as in Fig. 3, or it may comprise a tubular member Ha as in Fig. 4, or the striking bead may be bridged or ribbed as shown in Fig. 5.

The gasket I! may be anchored or attached 10 to the door casing in any suitable manner, as by trim strips l5 and corner plates I8. I

It is preferred to insert themembers l4 into the gasket through any one of the notches l3, although it will be obvious that other methods of u applying or inserting these members could be adopted withinthe province of the invention.

Among the advantages of the present improved gasket may be mentioned the reinforcing and building up of the gasket at the corner regions 20 of the door and maintaining the gasket in its original shape through long and continued use, resulting in a more effective sealing and cushioning action during the life of the refrigerator.

It will be obvious that certain minor changes 25 in construction and design may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator cabinet .having a compartment and a door for closing the compartment, a gasket for sealing the joint between the door and adjacent frame or wall of the cabinet comprising a strip of resilient gasket material having a web portion and a striking head which is hollow except in the regions of the corners of the door at which points the bead is cut or notched to accommodate bending and is provided with transverse ribs which bridge the inner walls of the bead and reinforce the latter at the notched 40 regions.

2. A gasket for sealing a closure member comprising a strip of material provided with a hollow striking bead, a regioii of said bead "being notched or cut transverse to the length thereof 45 to facilitate bending of the gasket, and a reenforcement in said bead at the notched or cut region.

3. A gasket for refrigerator cabinets including a flange and a hollow striking bead, a region of 50 said bead and flange being notched or cut transverse to the length thereof tofacilitate bending of the gasket, and a reenforcing insert in said bead at the notched or cut region thereof.

4. A gasket for refrigerator cabinets including 5 cut region thereof to reinforce the same.

6. A gasket for refrigerator cabinets formed of resilient material and including a flange and a hollow striking bead, a region of said bead being notched or cut transverse to the length thereof to facilitate bending of the gasket, and resilient tubing in said bead at the notched or cut region thereof to reenforce the same.

7. A gasket for refrigerator cabinets formed of resilient material and including a flange and a hollow striking bead, a region of said bead being notched or cut transverse to the length thereof to facilitate bending of the gasket, and said bead at the notched or cut region thereof having ribs of resilient material to reenforce the same.

CARL H. NAUERT. 

